


Sacrilege

by montes-carpatus (Carpathyah)



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Developing Relationship, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, references to past relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-29
Updated: 2016-06-29
Packaged: 2018-07-18 22:18:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7332907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carpathyah/pseuds/montes-carpatus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Angela never thought she was religious, until he gave her the golden chain with the crucifix.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sacrilege

He gifted it to her as a promise to always stay by her side. He promised to come running if she ever needed him. She lifted her hair as he clipped it around her neck. She felt the pendant in her fingers and the details of the body.

“I love it,” she told him as he placed his chin on her shoulder and smiled with her in the mirror. She never considered herself to be religious. She was her own miracle worker. But she never opposed his emotional attachment to a higher being. She attended the churches with him and read about medicinal religious practices.

She gripped the crucifix in her hand as she watched the monitors day and night during the aftermath of the destruction of her headquarters. His body wasn’t accepting the treatment and at any moment he could either come back or not.

“ _Gegrüßet seist du Maria, voll der Gnade_ ,” she began whispering to herself. She stumbled on the words and her lips trembled as she spoke. The crucifix made indents in her skin but she was too far in to stop squeezing her fist. She repeated the prayer for hours on end as she cared for him.

He awoke screaming in pain. Her treatments were having the opposite effect she desired. She tried calming him down but he wanted nothing from her. He cursed her, cursed her being. He fled the hospital.

She couldn’t run after him and fell into a pit of guilt, saying her Hail Mary's before bed so she could find peace in her practice.

“You’re no saint,” he spat at her during their reunion. She was older, wiser, and unaffected by words. Her wings sat heavily on her shoulders as they waited for the command to begin the fight. Her heart sat heavy in her chest as she looked up at him. Gabriel was under that outfit and she became aware of the chain around her neck and under her suit. She remembered how his calloused hands lightly stroked her neck. Those hands were only now replaced with metal claws.

“I never said I was,” she replied as the commands were set and they were ready for departure from their base under King’s Row.

Putting them on the same team must’ve been Winston’s worse decision. Whenever she attempted to heal him, he only pushed her away, wanting nothing to do with her new healing abilities.

“I am only here to heal your wounds, nothing more,” she angrily told him as she let the yellow glowing beam from her staff heal him.

“I want nothing to do with your practice, Doc,” he said through the mask. He stood tall in front of her but she stood just as tall. He quickly parted into the shadows to where she couldn’t find him.

The tension rose and then fell over many months. They weren’t friends, but they weren’t enemies. She was a tired woman, and forcing them to stay in the same headquarters made Gabriel see how little she aged physically but mentally.

Gabriel began noticing Angela again. His eyes always darted towards her in meetings and he found himself indirectly hoping that Angela was always safe during missions. He played it off; told himself that he was doing it for the sake of the team.

Angela was still too numb to pay attention to details around her. She buried herself in research and paperwork. She had her team to care for as well. There was so much to do and she wasn’t getting any younger.

“I can’t believe you ran off like that. We’re a team, Gabriel!” she bickered at him after a mission. Everyone else stayed quiet as they let Angela blow some steam. It wasn’t an easy mission and most of them needed her delicate care later.

“I was doing my own work, Angela! You didn’t have to follow me,” he answered back. She put her face in her hands as she took deep breaths. She pushed her bangs behind her ear. Gabriel didn’t move from his spot. He could’ve sworn she was going to cry, or yell at him some more.

He could’ve admitted he was never far from her. Even when she believed he was way out front. He was in the shadows, making sure no one would lay a hurtful hand on her or the others.

“You haven’t changed a bit,” she said as she looked down at the floor. She was too tired to argue any longer. She remembered how he acted when they argued. It was never pretty but it was tame. They were in love and the last thing they wanted to do was to inflict emotional harm. Things felt different now, they weren’t in love and the bitterness of being ex-lovers lingered in their hearts.

Gabriel didn’t know what to say to her. He would argue otherwise, that she was the one at fault for him changing in the first place. It wasn’t his skin, and it never would be his skin.

His instinct wanted to reach out to her, go back to their bedroom and apologize like he used to. But his mind was soon fogged by the poison and he retreated to his chamber.

She heard his door slam down the hall. She was out of her suit and getting ready to take care of her teammates. She twirled the crucifix a little before she slipped on her white doctor’s coat. She was temporarily Dr. Angela Zeigler again, and she cared for her teammates with the power of modern medicine.

Prayers couldn’t save her then. She had fallen behind and she was hurt. She pressed her hand on the bullet wound on her shoulder. She began healing it herself but she was running out of time. She kept on running to find her co-heroes. The distant sound of D.Va’s mech gave her hope that her team would be able to fight without her.

“Angela,” she heard her name as she saw a familiar phantom come towards her. Her eyes widened at her saviour. “Are you alright?”

“Gabriel,” his name escaped her lips. He noticed the blood immediately and she could feel his gaze on her. “It’ll close up soon. I’ve managed to heal myself.” She placed her hand on her shoulder, hiding the wound temporarily.

It puzzled him. Angela was practically made of glass; she bruised too easily. Once she removed her hand, the hole was half the size it was. She was regenerating quickly, a curse he believed was unique to him and temporarily to those healed by her staff.

“Follow me,” he ordered and she did as told. The others were doing fine, healing off of Jack’s biotic field. The last of it healed her wound closed shut.

She laid in bed that evening, staring at the ceiling. She didn’t understand Gabriel anymore. Her head wanted to hate him; push him away so he wouldn’t get near her. She put her hand on her chest and felt the necklace. Her heart had decided it wanted nothing more than to love him again, much to her frustration. She closed her eyes and prayed. When she opened her eyes, nothing had changed and she felt just as worse as before. She didn’t expect a response in return but if God be damned, that anything would be better than nothing right then.

She found herself in front of his door. The light seeping through signalled that he was still awake. Her fist was up, ready to knock. She lingered before she sighed and put it down. It was a dumb idea, she thought. Things have changed.

She turned back to go to her room and sleep off these thoughts.

Gabriel heard her from inside his room. He was expecting a knock but nothing came and he heard her shuffle away. He wanted to ask her about her healing abilities; about what she had done to herself.

He hated her, wished he killed her when he had the chance. She was trying to soften him by bringing back memories of when they were together. He would remind himself that she gave him the hell he was in; but she also saved him from the mess he put himself in.

It became much more difficult to concentrate fully on the plans of an upcoming defense mission when you’ve developed some kind of feelings for your ex-lover. Sitting opposite from each other, the tension was so high that Lena whispered in Mei’s ear about the air being thick as pudding.

“I’m guessing the divorce papers never really went through,” Jack commented to Angela while she was packing up her papers. She was blushing, embarrassed about how obvious the tension was.

“It’s not what you think. It’s nothing. The man won’t let go of the past,” she excused herself by blaming Gabriel.

“He’s not the only one, _Mother Mercy_ ,” he concluded the conversation. Her hand went directly to the crucifix. It was mostly hidden by her beige sweater. She packed up her things quicker so she can get to her research.

The missions were getting harder as the enemies kept getting stronger. Angela was quick to heal her team and to let Jack use his biotic field only in emergencies. Gabriel was higher up, in the buildings around them hoping to take down any snipers.

As much damage Gabriel could take in his Reaper uniform, he wasn’t immune. It was his turn to get hurt, and he did when he noticed a sniper aiming for their healer. He was quick to teleport to their window and kill them off, sending the bullet into him instead of her.

“I’ve got you,” she greeted as she flew up like the angel she was. Her forehead was covered in sweat as she let her beam heal the wound alongside his own regeneration. She gently flew back down to heal her other teammates.

They were doing well, and Angela couldn’t be prouder.

“About time you come down,” she commented as she felt Gabriel behind her.

“Maybe you should fly up more often,” he said through his mask, making her lips curl into a smile. Her beam shining blue into his side as they entered the main threat.

Perhaps they got cocky too quickly. Perhaps it was going against their plans because the ticking of a bomb that didn’t belong to Lena was going off there and then. Angela already announced their location as it was too late and the bomb went off. She found herself thrown across the room.

Gabriel turned towards Angela first, wrapping his arm around her waist and shielding her with his body. The impact hurt. The heat, debris and the force itself made its mark on his back.

“You alright?” he asked first as he slowly uncurled himself from her. In the dim light of the streets, he could tell that her neck piece was ripped and her halo was bent. He gasped as he witnessed what hung around her neck. The crucifix twinkled against her pale skin in the yellow light. He instantly recognized it.

“I’m fine,” she answered as she sat up properly. She reached for her staff and turned it on towards him first.

“The crucifix,” he mentioned. Her hand went straight to her neck as if she lost it. She felt the tore in her suit that exposed her neck.

“I’ll explain later,” she said in a rushed tone as Gabriel rose off the floor. He held out his hand to help. She took it without a doubt and pulled herself up. She thanked him as she reported their status to their teammates.

The mission went better than they expected. They retrieved what they were after and it was in their safety.

When everyone was thought to be asleep, Gabriel made his way to Angela’s room. The door was already open, expecting his visit. He found her at her desk with her hand on her chain, lightly stroking the crucifix.

“I didn’t think you kept it,” he admitted.

“I didn’t want to keep it,” she told him as she got up from her chair and walked towards him. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into an embrace. His hand cupped the back of her head as she relaxed into his chest. “I never wanted this to happen to you,” she said into his shirt. She was overwhelmed by his touch, his smell, and the sound of his voice without the damn mask. His heartbeat was almost non-existent in her ear. There were many flaws in her treatment and Gabriel had them all.

Her presence had changed in his eyes. He didn’t want to believe that she had done the same treatment on him on herself. Her skin was ghostly pale and her body lacked warmth. He cupped her chin with his hand to get her to look at him.

“What have you done to yourself?” he asked.

“The same I’ve done to you, but I perfected my methods,” she answered. “I-I couldn’t live with myself after you left.” she blubbered. He pressed his lips against the top of her head in attempt to calm her down. He had failed her.

“ _Mi angel hermosa_ ,” he whispered as he stroked her neck. She shook a little, kept in whatever emotions inside for too long.  
In the middle of the night, they found themselves in the local church. Anglican, but a church nonetheless. Angela began whispering the prayer she always knew. Gabriel quietly sat next to her and respectfully waited for her to finish. The sat quietly for a while, watching the candles flicker and light up the altar.

“I wanted to marry you in a church like this one,” Gabriel confessed. Angela chuckled as she looked up at the stained glass windows that presented many Biblical stories and saints.

“I never wanted to get married. I’m not one for traditions. You knew this,” she told him.

“Maybe, I could’ve changed your mind.”

“Maybe,” she grinned as she looked at him. Her pale skin looked so much more alive in the yellow light. Her loose blond hair reflected the little light coming in from the windows. The small wrinkles near her eyes reminded him how much time has passed since he had seen her smile like that.

Neither of them were sure if they could pursue love again. It was a lingering idea without an outcome. Angela moved closer to Gabriel and he lifted his arm to make room for her. She placed both her hands in his, feeling the scars and callouses. He squeezed them.

“Maybe.”


End file.
